It Takes Two: Part Two
by wysha.thorne
Summary: Amanda and Paul make it to Yokohama, where they team up with the four survivors. Only thing is, they also have multiple types of xenomorphs to deal with at any one time, joes that make Seegson look good, and humans that will kill without warning. Oh, and Paul is now in the very early stages of pregnancy.
1. Chapter 1

Yokohama is a large station in the middle of nowhere, so you can imagine our surprise when Amanda and I turn up two weeks after the Sevastopol incident. We are still reeling from what has gone on, and we can see that s-h-i-t has started going down here too.

'Where are the others?' Amanda asks me out of worry.

'They're on their way.' I reply with a smile.

Amanda's hair is all over the place, and our new weapons array means that we are protected should anything happen. I am also newly pregnant thanks to some fun with Amanda during a pitstop, and even though I have no symptoms, I am developing a telepathic bond with the baby who I already know is a girl whose name will be Eve.

And then a group of survivors walk into the room. They are Mike Barber, Tim Chang, Emily Pearson, and Naoko Watanabe, and they are the survivors that we were able to save from Sevastopol.

'Thank you for rescuing us.' Mike says to us as he looks around.  
'Tis our pleasure.' I reply happily. 'Everything good here?'  
'We wish it were, but alas, that's not the case.' Mike replies with a sigh.

At that moment, Naoko walks forward, letting us know that there is "company" walking around. She is half Finnish and half Japanese, although she has a full Japanese name, and she is also androgynous.

'So what is the plan?' Amanda asks out of curiosity.  
'The plan is to trap them in the lower lab, and then Marshall Takeda is going to open up the airlock.' Naoko replies with a smile. 'Do not worry, as from what I know, he is a decent guy, and seeing as there are actually seven of us here instead of six, he'll take extra caution.'

I give the standard salute, and when Tim walks over with the motion trackers, we all happily take them. They include a video feed aswell as a radar, and through them, we can communicate with one another, due to a built-in microphone.

Unfortunately, our friends are also on their way.

But they are not the same as the ones on Sevastopol, as it is known that Yokohama has been home to various non-human residents, and on our travels through Sevastopol, Amanda and I both saw various non-human corpses. There is also the process known as eggmorphing, which we also saw a fair bit of, and even though there can be a queen involved, xenomorphs do not need them in order to reproduce.

'That sounds like a good plan. However, these things won't take easily to being trapped.' I mention as I grab hold of Amanda's hand. 'Like on Sevastopol, they escaped, and even if we are successful here, there will be more to deal with. What level are we on?'  
'Freight and engineering.' Naoko confirms with a sigh. 'We are on the upper deck. I'd suggest that you take a look around, get to know the area a bit more.'  
'So you've already seen them, then?' I inquire, surprised.

Emily walks over.

'No, as we've been holed up in the lower engineering deck with about twenty other people.' Emily confirms as she looks at her motion tracker. 'We decided to stay there whilst waiting for you guys.'

I nod, and we take a look around. Yokohama has been almost completely totalled, and upon walking down a dimly lit corridor, I see a crawler killing a human. I know it's a crawler; it's quadrupedal, and when it notices me, it runs towards me. I immediately flame it, and it runs off.

'Looks like we've already met our friends.' I sigh as I hold my flamethrower close to me.  
'Will your baby be fine?' Tim asks me out of worry.  
'Heck yeah, as like both myself and Amanda, she's half Neneri.' I reply with a smile. 'She won't be due for another 39 weeks and 2 days, although we're already interconnected.'

That's the truth, as like I said in the first part of this shitstorm, we have the ability to get pregnant regardless of whether or not we are male or female. However, one part I neglected to mention is that human-Neneri hybrids also communicate with their young via telepathy, so as soon as conception has happened, we know our child's gender and even name. It extends to the non-pregnant parent, as the child communicates with both parents, and it can sense whether or not we are in danger.

'So how long has Yokohama been open?' Amanda asks Tim as we continue walking.  
'About 3 weeks, although it quickly went to shit when they came ashore. The fact that we're also near the galactic edge makes it even worse, as we're completely alone out here, and if Yokohama goes down, we will need divine intervention or else this will be our tomb.' Tim replies with a sigh. 'However, that said, I did hear of a plan to go intergalactic, as there is a planet in a galaxy about 20 billion light years from us that is being considered as a potential outpost.'

I know, and I have already put mine and Amanda's names down for that mission. It is a planet about the size of Jupiter, and its orbit lasts three hundred and fifty eight days. It orbits a binary star system, and it is where Amanda and I plan to welcome Eve and our subsequent children. A few starships have already been sent over, having come into the possession of engineer technology, and if we survive Yokohama (we will), we will be looking at a flight duration of about eight months, although we'll be stopping at various pitstops along the way.

'Can someone get me a map of this place?' I ask, hoping for an answer.  
'Don't need to, as the motion trackers have a built-in map aswell as everything else.' Mike confirms as we come across a door. 'We're gonna need to break off now. Naoko, you come with me. Emily, Tim, you go to the computer lab.'

We all nod.

'Ripley, Carter, you go to comms.' Mike orders with a smile.

I nod, and Amanda and I look for signs that will take us up to comms.

'We'll have to keep internal comms open at all times if we're all going to make it out here.' I mention as I look at everybody. 'I will also talk to Marshall Takeda, and if any of you even think of doing anything wrong, be warned that I am a former Marshall, and I am well within my rights to look for you, find you, and kill you.'

That is the truth, as Marshalls have the right to do such a thing. The only people I won't kill are Amanda and my future family, and I emphasise each word, making sure they understand every single word.

But our conversation is cut short.

A drone appears, and runs towards us. Still sore from my previous tail-grabbing experience, I step forward, and grab its tail, ensuring that it gets the exact same treatment. It tries to bite back, but Amanda stops it in time, flaming it right in the mouth. It immediately runs off, although we know that it will be back.

As will our crawler friend.

Amanda and I walk for half an hour until we reach an elevator. In order to get to comms, we need to take said elevator. The doors are made of a glass-like material, and there are sensors within that turn the doors into screens.

And there are terminals too.

We've seen a few dotted around. They will come in handy as time goes by, but for now, we're okay.

'You guys holding up?' I ask the others as I sit down inside the elevator.  
'Am heading to the computer lab right now.' Emily replies on her end. 'All the doors seem to be locked, and Tim can't hack into them. You found a hack tool yet?'

As if by sheer coincidence, there is one on the floor in front of me. Amanda picks it up, and as if by pure fucking luck, it's working.

'You'll need to use it at times.' Emily mentions as she and Tim come across the computer lab. 'Not sure what we're gonna find here. Hey, Mike, you there yet?'  
'Just scanning the lower engineering deck again.' Mike confirms on his end. 'Doesn't look good, I'm afraid, and whatever those creatures actually are, I can safely say that all of them will have been born here.'  
'That's highly likely, as these things don't have a long gestation period.' I mention as I rub my stomach.

At that moment, Marshall Takeda comes in.

'Glad to see you made it onboard.' Takeda says to me via intercom.  
'You don't want to know how much we had to sacrifice in order to get here.' I sigh as Amanda sits next to me.  
'I do, as I monitored all of your vitals.' Takeda mentions as the signal gets clearer. 'You were almost dead when you were picked up. It was a miracle that you survived. Your brother, though, was a different story, as I sent a crew into the giant, and we were able to find his charred body.'  
'Waits got what he deserved, as he was an absolute bitch.' I mention as I continue to rub my stomach. 'He can rot in hell for all I care.'  
'For all we care, you mean, as he visited us about a month and a half ago, and he and a fucking Weyland-Yutani rep interrogated me over a xenomorph specimen that they supposedly wanted to procure.' Takeda adds as he grows annoyed. 'We had never even seen it before, and then they set up the chain of events that lead to Sevastopol. Then he sent out a few shuttles our way with both supplies and your guys, and guess fucking what? We're now going down.'  
'Well when myself and Amanda get to comms, we're gonna search for a long-range beacon, so that we can send out a message.' I confirm as I remain calm. 'That way, if it gets picked up, help will come. However, at the same time, we do run the risk of being caught out, as if Weyland-Yutani find out that Amanda and I are still alive, there'll be bullets with our names on them.'

At that moment, the elevator jolts. The power temporarily goes out, and we hear a scream.

Emily.

'Is everything okay?' I ask Emily as I grow worried.  
'We... we just saw one!' Emily whisper-screams, frozen in shock.  
'You and Tim need to find a locker asap, as it'll be roaming around, and it will kill you. What did it look like?' I reply and ask as I check the radar.  
'It was small but fast.' Emily confirms as the crawler reappears.

It is very obviously a crawler of feline origin. Emily flames it, causing it to run off, but then more appear, and she and Tim are forced to run and hide.

'Is Emily okay?' Mike asks as he and Naoko continue to look around.  
'She and Tim are both in hiding.' Amanda confirms as she takes hold of my left hand. 'You should also hide, as my radar is picking up activity in your area.'  
'They won't be xenomorphs, as there are a few joes down here, like the ones from Sevastopol.' Mike confirms as he looks around.

Mike has a posh English accent, and walks around with a cane. He is a few years younger than me, and he is a station lifer - someone who has spent their entire life on a space station - having never visited a single planet. He is also incredibly religious, and in his pocket is a King James Bible. He is a pastor as a result, and if you don't find him in a church environment, you will find him wandering around, doing whatever needs doing. He's what one would call an odd-job-man, or to be more precise, one of the most important members of staff that one can have on their side.

A few seconds later, we enter comms. It is unlike anything we've seen before, with desks everywhere, and various joes in blue and white uniforms tending to the consoles.

'What's the scoop with the joes, Takeda?' I ask as I become confused.  
'They're trying to keep comms open.' Takeda replies with a sigh. 'They are from Omega Incorporated, and they will not attack unless the network breaks down.'  
'You got a central computer here?' I inquire, curious.  
'We have.' Takeda replies as the joes stop working. 'It's called Jehovah, and it runs the network. It also keeps the joes in check, and if it goes down, the joes will go straight for the kill. They are far worse than those from Seegson, and you don't want to be in with them if that happens.'

I nod, and we make our way over to a central console unit. It is unmanned, leading both Amanda and myself to believe that it is for human use.

'You are in danger, dad.' Eve tells me via telepathy.  
'I know, kiddo.' I reply.

At that moment, a pair of drones appear. They are older than the others that we've seen so far, and they are also a little taller. They come running towards me, and Amanda and I both flame them.

And that's when we notice something.

Our new flamethrowers synthesise flamethrower fuel out of thin air, meaning that we'll be covered in the event that shit really goes down.

And if you read the first part, you'll know that not only is shit about to go down, but it's going to get worse.

And this is where the "going to get worse" part starts to kick in.

'We've got a problem here.' Tim pipes up from out of nowhere.

I check the video feed, and sure enough, another crawler has appeared. Tim and Emily are now in a server farm, having found a keycard. There are servers all over the place, and they are hiding amongst them, trying to keep themselves hidden as much as possible.

'You guys picked a shit spot to hide.' I mention as I look at the video feed.

At that moment, a crawler notices Tim, and runs straight towards him.

'Thanks for giving us up, Carter!' Emily whisper-yells as she tries to find another hiding spot.

Tim flames the crawler, scaring it off.

'Now get out of there and turn right.' I order as I check the map. 'There's a stairwell, and it leads to what appears to be a control room of some sort. You will find a terminal there. Use it, and then get the fuck outta that shithole.'

There is another computer lab nearby, which is locked off from the main area. However, there are various ceiling junctions there, so there is no way of telling whether or not they'll be safe.

Or any of us, for that matter.

Yokohama is about thrice the size of Sevastopol, the comms room easily being the size of the entire psychiatric and general medical floors on Sevastopol put together and multiplied by five.

And no vents.

And there's no power.

'We'll need to think of something else.' I sigh as I shoot a look at Amanda.  
'What is there?' Amanda inquires, curious.

I look around, and see a long corridor that is lined with computer labs. There are crates, and I let the others know the new plan.

'We're going to have to figure out another way to get comms back up.' I announce as I start walking.  
'We got that.' Takeda replies with a sigh. 'Did the power go down?'  
'Power never came on.' Amanda admits as she follows suit.  
'I can see you on camera. Go down that corridor and look for a large white console. Boot it up, and enter the code six-nine-seven-two. It will bring up the utilities folder, and upon opening it, you must look for the door access option, as you need to head to the upper deck. Once you've done that, I want you to come to me, and then I will tell you where you need to go next.'

I nod, and with Amanda in tow, I head down the corridor, and make my way into the room with said auxillary console.

Little do I know, the network is about to go down.

'You got comms open yet?' Naoko asks me via video feed.  
'We've run into difficulties.' Amanda replies as I tend to said console. 'You?'  
'Mike's scanning the area for signatures.' Naoko confirms with a sigh. 'There's something in here with us. Think it might be a jumper.'

Jumpers are xenomorphs that have the ability to jump great distances. They are born from spiders, and they gather in groups, attacking when a potential victim walks near them.

'Are you sure it's one of them?' I ask, curious.  
'No, but Mike saw a bunch of them huddled together. That's not normal xenomorph behavior, as the ones we've seen like to walk around, but not these, as these just seem to lie in waiting.' Naoko admits as she looks around.

I take a deep breath.

'Yes, I have seen them before.' Naoko admits, having noticed my looks. 'I was four, and I witnessed my father being killed by one. My mother ferried me and my two older sisters onto the shuttle, and we made our way to Sevastopol. I have since tried to keep away from them, but... well... it seems that I am now thrust back into that life. What about you?'  
'I was a Marshall on Pandora Station.' I confirm as I click on the utilities folder. 'I saw all sorts of things, but the Sevastopol incident was my first time getting up close and personal with these fuckers.'  
'And you, Ripley?' Naoko asks as she turns to look at Amanda.  
'I'm pretty sure you know my case, as my mother left when I was about nine, failed to return after looking for her next payslip, turned me into the orphan of the century.' Amanda confirms with a sigh. 'I was always associated with them, but until Sevastopol happened, I'd never even seen them.'

At that moment, the network goes down.

'I believe there is someone here.' A joe says, catching us by surprise.

I say a quick goodbye to Naoko, and Amanda and I re-enter the corridor. The joes are all walking towards us, with absolute anger in their eyes, and we know that it's either run or die.

'The door that you just opened is coming up.' Takeda announces as Amanda and I are running.  
'We'll need you to close it behind us.' I pant, frightened as fuck.  
'I can't do that.' Takeda confirms with a sigh. 'You'll have to just keep running, and if the aliens appear, just flame the fuck out of them.'  
'And the joes?' Amanda asks, scared as fuck.  
'Defend yourselves at all costs.' Takeda confirms as we run through said door.

At that moment, a crawler and three drones appear, and join in the chase. I cover Amanda, flaming them, and we make our way up the stairs. Due to the layout of the station, the comms are pretty low-down, and the transit station - which we need to use in order to get to the bureau - requires the use of stairs aswell as elevators in various areas.

And more problems await us.

We manage to evade the joes and our friends for now, but we still have to be careful, as there are more of them nearby. I see dead bodies in various states of decomposition, and when my motion tracker beeps, I pull Amanda behind a crate.

'We may have new weapons, but we still need to be careful.' I say to Amanda as we remain hidden.  
'I know that.' Amanda replies with a sigh. 'What does Eve say about this?'  
'She can sense my heartrate.' I admit with a sigh.

I will mention that hybrid embryos start to form neural pathways immediately upon conception. It is an evolutionary trait, as is the telepathic bond, meaning that we are born with a fair bit of intelligence in our heads.

Unfortunately, the intelligence is only temporary.

We lose it by the time we are a year old, and so we have to relearn everything. I know this through looking at various databases created around the time that I was born, and I compared my records to those of Amanda and many other hybrids, finding the exact same pattern.

And we also hide our pregnancies.

Aswell as not having any symptoms, we do not grow a baby bump. I will be able to use that to my advantage at the various pitstops, as when Amanda, Eve, and myself, go intergalactic, it's gonna be a whole new ballgame, as the xenomorphs out there are gonna make the ones we've seen look like teddy bears.

But for now, we have these ones to deal with.

When the coast is finally clear, Amanda and I both make a run for it. Then it happens.

'EMILY'S DOWN!' Tim yells via video feed.  
'Calm yourself.' I order with a sigh.  
'What's happened?' Amanda asks, trying to keep calm.  
'Something fell onto her. I was able to lift it off... oh my god, she's badly injured!' Tim cries as he looks around.

I patch through to Takeda.

'Where's medical?' I ask, hoping for a good answer.  
'Second tower.' Takeda frantically replies. 'Just look for scimed. The name is Queen Elizabeth Medical Center. I'll patch you through to the senior doctor, Lindsay Frazier. She'll guide you to where you need to go.'

This is just what we need (not).

But we have no choice, so we make our way down a few corridors and into a large transit station. We have no idea just how bad Emily is, but we don't want to take any chances, so I order Tim to get her to safety.

'What's this about Emily being injured?' Mike asks me via video feed as he hides behind a crate.  
'Something fell on her.' I reply with a sigh. 'Ripley and I are heading to scimed to pick up supplies. You okay?'  
'Kinda, as we managed to escape the jumpers as of right now, but I think they might be catching up with us in the vents.' Mike replies as he moves. 'Naoko's in a locker. When the coast is finally clear, we're gonna head towards the civilian tower, as one of our buddies had a keycard, and... well... we just found it.'

I call Takeda, who checks the camera feed for the civilian tower.

'There's tracks there, Carter.' Takeda announces as Mike continues to hide.  
'You do know we can all hear you, don't you?' Mike asks, surprised.  
'I deliberately made it so that you would.' Takeda replies back. 'Be safe on your travels.'


	2. Chapter 2

Mike nods, and we all press forward. Thanks to the shuttle crew being generous, we have a good supply of food and water with us, so we don't have to worry in that department.

But we do have to worry about company turning up.

I hear movement in the vents above, and upon noticing a few ceiling junctions, I start to panic. The memories of seeing Sevastopol going down are still fresh in my mind, and I shudder at the thought of seeing dead bodies with their faces punched out and-slash-or their ribcages being violently ripped open.

But I still don't regret it.

As I saved Amanda, and at the end of the day, Amanda and Eve are worth more to me than the other survivors. When a drone drops down, we immediately take cover, cowering under a table as it walks around, its feet banging the ground with each thud. It growls; it knows something is here, and seconds later, it is joined by a crawler. I sign for Amanda to hand me a flare, and upon her doing so, I crack it, and throw it down the corridor that we have just used. The drone and crawler both sense the flare, and they both run over to it, giving Amanda and myself time to run down the right-hand corridor, leading to the transit station.

Upon entering the transit station, we make our way over to the transit slot that has the scimed sign above it.

'I sure do miss this shit.' I giggle as I shoot a look at Amanda.  
'Just two days ago, you said that you hated this part.' Amanda sighs as she rolls her eyes.  
'Well the ones at Sevastopol looked like they were about to die on us.' I sigh as I continue to giggle. 'These ones, however, seem to be a little on the newer side.'

I press the button, and thirty seconds later, the transit car arrives. The doors open, and we waltz in. I walk over to the console, and lo and fucking behold, it's a pain in the ass. However, I am successful, and once we are mobile, I sit my ass down.

'Newer my ass.' Amanda giggles as she squeezes my hand.  
'You win.' I giggle, my face going slightly red.

Amanda rubs my stomach with her free hand, fiercely protective of Eve even though she (Eve) is still an embryo. Also, in regards to what I mentioned in the first part, I will mention that my father actually didn't use the same vials of DNA for myself and Amanda, so it is officially confirmed that we are NOT siblings in any case.

Not even half siblings.

Although our genetics look identical, so people might say that we are. It is also something that we found out whilst on the shuttle, and a search in the Waits department brought up some info that I wish I had kept hidden. Amanda also knows about my colorful past, and yet despite all of this, she loves the fuck outta me, and we now have a baby on the way.

About five minutes later, we enter the scimed tower. There are still survivors from what we can see, and they appear to be unarmed and injured.

'What's happened here?' I ask around, confused.  
'Medical has been put under lockdown.' One of the doctors replies. 'Only those authorised by Marshall Takeda can get in.'

I reveal that to be the case, and the doctor nods. She then points towards the entrance, and we make our way over. There are more injured survivors there, aswell as a few mentally ill survivors, and upon entering the waiting room, we make our way over to the desk, where we see a blonde woman in blue scrubs standing behind what appears to be glass.

'Marshall Takeda told me you were coming, and that you need specialist supplies.' Dr Frazier says to us as she walks over to the terminal. 'You don't need to tell me your names, as word gets around pretty fast.'  
'Why the lockdown if the creatures are already running around?' Amanda inquires, suspicious.  
'It was to keep the patients safe, but then they got in, and so we had to move everybody out.' Dr Frazier admits as she sits down.  
'Last time we entered a medical facility, it was almost completely deserted and we were being bossed around by a jerk.' I mention as I walk over to the infamous door. 'Which ward does this lead into?'  
'The minor ailments clinic.' Dr Frazier confirms with a smile. 'However, you will have to go down to the surgical ward, as you will find what you need there, and I will arrange for your friend to be transferred up to the bureau for treatment.'

At that moment, Mike chimes in.

'We're now in the civilian tower.' Mike announces via video feed.  
'Any luck in the keycard department?' I inquire, curious.  
'No, although I have been talking to the others, and it looks like we might have to temporarily team...' Mike starts as he shoots an intruder.  
'We can't, as it's better if we keep physical contact with one another to a bare minimum.' I mention as I hear footsteps. 'Gotta go now, as we've got company.'


	3. Chapter 3

I tell Mike to hide. Seconds later, a drone appears, and Mike crawls into a wall vent.

That's another thing we fuckin' need.

'The creatures can follow you in there.' I warn Mike as Dr Frazier opens the door.  
'That's just what I need to hear.' Mike sighs as Naoko joins him. 'You got anything else you need to tell us? God help us if the androids can too.'  
'They can.' I confirm with a sigh.  
'Thanks for the heads up.' Mike replies as his sigh turns into a smile.

I nod, and Amanda and I walk into the clinic. It looks like a war zone, and I can see facehugger corpses all over the place. I let out a not-so-silent "oh shit", and when we see a live one, I whip out my maintenance jack, and annihilate the fucker before it latches onto my face.

'You need to look for a keycard. It will be in one of the offices.' Dr Frazier announces over the tannoy.  
'Any particular name?' Amanda asks, curious.


	4. Chapter 4

'Dr Andrew Carter.' Dr Frazier replies as she becomes worried. 'You need to find it. There might be a passcode too, but I can't remember.'

I nod, and Amanda and I look around, all whilst keeping an eye on the others. We see a drone up ahead, and the moment it sees us, I flame it.

'Who did you say your mother was?' Tim asks Amanda out of temporary confusion.

'My mother was Ellen Ripley.' Amanda replies with a sigh. 'How are you holding up?'

'Not too good, as I don't think Emily can wait that much longer for help.' Tim confirms as he tries to stem the bleeding.  
'We'll be as quick as we can.' I vow as my heartrate picks up. 'Also, you need to get her to a safe spot, as there's tracks in your area, and they sure as hell ain't Human.'

Seconds later, three drones appear. Tim flames them all, and turns his focus back onto Emily.

But it is too late.

I take a closer look at the injury, and see that it is fatal. Seconds later, Emily dies.

'Woman down.' I announce out loud.

'What do you mean?' Naoko asks, worried.  
'Emily's gone.' I reply with a sigh. 'However, there's no time to start mourning, as we need to remember what we are dealing with.'

Eve tells me that we are in danger. I turn around, and sure enough, a drone is charging right at me. I flame it, and it runs off.

'Yeah, you better run.' I sneer as I keep my eye on the drone.

'What happened?' Amanda asks as she turns to face me.

'Fuckin' drone tried to charge right at me.' I reply as I calm down.


	5. Chapter 5

Amanda sighs, and we continue on our way. We are able to find Dr Carter's office, and sure enough, we find the code.

But Dr Carter's body is not there.

Little do we know, he is located in the dental part of the clinic, and he is so dead that all that's left of him body-wise is his skeleton. The code is sixteen-zero-nine, and it is to be used on a door that separates the general area from the dental area. I keep my flamethrower out the entire time, and as Amanda punches the code in, I keep watch, making sure that company doesn't turn up.

It does.

A drone, some crawlers, and a jumper, to be precise. I flame all of them in quick succession, using my expert aiming skills in the process.

'We'll be fine, kiddo.' I smile after Eve sends me a telepathic message.  
'Thanks, daddy.' Eve replies telepathically.

Amanda opens the door, and we make our way through. I continue to cover for her, and we make our way into the dental area, which as I can see is full of dead bodies.

'Dr Carter should be in the treatment room.' Dr Frazier announces as she continues to watch us.

'You got anything yet?' Marshall Takeda chips in, catching us by surprise.

'Well Emma's dead, and we're still looking for medical supplies.' I reply with a sigh. 'You got any news for us?'

'Yes, and pretty bad too, as you need to take an elevator once you leave scimed, but the elevator shaft is flooded, so you're gonna have to swim.' Marshall Takeda confirms with an audible sigh.

Swimming is no problem for us, although it will also involve dealing with swimmers (aquatic xenomorphs).


	6. Chapter 6

'Roger that.' I reply as I roll my eyes.

Amanda shoots a look at me.

'Elevator shaft that we need to use has been flooded.' I sigh as my motion tracker picks up tracks.

'And Takeda wants us to swim, I guess.' Amanda sighs back.

I nod. Seconds later, Mike picks up.

'That elevator shaft connects all of us. If we all meet up there and head to the medical staff quarters, we can come up with a new plan of action.' Mike announces, catching us all by surprise.  
'Are you fuckin' insane?' Tim asks, slightly annoyed.

'Insane enough to try and keep us all alive.' Mike replied as he sat down at a computer terminal. 'Gonna reroute the power out of the shaft.'

I nod, and Mike does exactly that. We have to swim down into a junction, and then we have to swim into an airlock. However, we won't be alone, as Naoko has located a band of children, who will be ferried to Octavius Station in the Andromeda Galaxy, where we will also be going once we have finished here. It is one of the many pitstops on the way to the planet that we will end up calling both Remis III and home.

And Remis III is in what we will call the Octavis Galaxy. It is a large red planet, and it is home to a race known as the Remians.


	7. Chapter 7

'I'm also bringing some children with us, as the medical staff quarters is the only way we can get them to the shuttle that's about to take off.' Naoko announces as she looks our way.

'How many children?' I ask, suddenly becoming worried.

'10.' Naoko replies with a sigh.

I try to think of something to say, but Marshall Takeda cuts me off.

'There are vents that can take you through to the shaft. However, the shaft will be pitch-black, and the junction you need to access is closed off.' Takeda anounces, catching us by surprise.

'Amanda and I will lead the way when the time comes.' I reply with a smile as I check my flashlight. 'Also, isn't it supposed to get flooded when shit goes down?'

'No, but there is something down there, and whatever it is, it flooded the entire shaft.' Takeda confirms as he pulls up the map.

I let out a silent "oh shit", before realising that we still have medical supplies to collect. I then look at the children, and I let out a sigh, as I can sense that they are going to be killed upon reaching Octavius, which will be a million times larger than Yokohama.

And then Amanda and I press forward. We manage to locate Dr Carter's body, and upon grabbing the keycard, we make our way out, over to the elevator, and make our way to the surgical ward which houses more survivors.

And a fucking hazmat joe.

'Give me a fucking break!' I whisper-sigh as the joe notices me.

The joe starts walking towards me. It has a blue suit on, and it has a target-lock device on its head which means that it can find us easily.

'You really shouldn't be here!' The joes says, in that all-too-familiar tone.

I immediately enter protector mode, and with Amanda's help, I ambush the joe, hitting it until its head falls off. Unfortunately, it alerts company, forcing us to hide.

'You okay there?' Mike asks us as we are hiding.

'We've had to hide.' I reply as we try to keep quiet.

At that moment, the drone notices us. We immediately start running, and when we manage to break its line of sight, we breathe a sigh of relief.

'There's more in your area.' Mike says with a sigh.

'We know.' Amanda replies back. 'How are you holding up?'

'Making our way to the shaft, although we had to stop off and get snorkels and aqualungs. You gonna need any?' Mike replies and inquires out of curiosity.

'No, as Amanda, Eve, and myself, are only half Human, so we don't have to worry about that shit.' I reply with a smile.

The flooded elevator shaft is incredibly large, and there are many places for xenomorphs to hide. We can see it through the glass windows, and right at that moment, a swimmer notices us.

'We're gonna have company in the shaft, guys.' I announce, becoming worried.

'What?!' Naoko asks, surprised.  
'Just saw a few in there. From what I can tell, they seem to have webbed feet.' I reply with a sigh. 'We're gonna be heading right into their trap. I'm gonna look for some underwater rocket launchers. Takeda, do you copy?'

'I do indeed, and yes, there are underwater rocket launchers.' Takeda confirms with an audible sigh.

'They are located in a secure storage unit near the operating theatre.' Dr Frazier confirms over the tannoy. 'We keep them for moments like this. Take as many as you need.'

I nod.

'Then we'll take the lot, as we don't know how many are in the shaft, and there's gonna be a fair few of us going down. Hey, what about the shuttle? Is that ready for the children?' I reply and ask as Amanda and I continue hiding.

'The shuttle is primed and ready for takeoff.' Takeda confirms happily. 'Just roping in a second one for you guys, although yours might take a while.'

'That's okay, as at least the children will be safe in the event that shit really starts to go down here.' I smile as a crawler appears and abducts one of the survivors. 'Thank fuck it didn't see us.'

As soon as the coast is clear, Amanda and I leave our hiding spot, and continue on our way to the theatre. There are a few corridors that we need to go down, and when the power suddenly goes out, glow-in-the dark strips light up, guiding us to where we need to go.

'What just happened?' I ask Takeda as my eyes adjust to the darkness.

'I don't know.' Takeda admits via intercom. 'You should still be good, though.'

The power outage has been caused by a failure. It is station-wide, and it is going to remain like that until we leave for Octavius. Fortunately, Amanda and I can both see clearly, and when we finally enter the theatre, I grab the kit.

'We're heading to the shaft now, guys.' Amanda announces as she covers my ass.

Takeda gives us the directions, and we start to make our way there. I pick up the rocket launchers, and upon meeting up with Tim, Mike, and Naoko, I hand them one each. The children are close behind, and we make our way up to the flooded elevator shaft. It is completely flooded, and as it turns out, there is a hatch that is there specifically for moments like this. The children are fully prepared, and as soon as I open the hatch, we all jump in.

'It's gonna be dark down there, so put your flashlights on.' Takeda orders as he watches us on the monitors.

We all do exactly that, and then we start making our way down. Amanda and I both lead, with the children behind us, and Tim, Mike, and Naoko, behind them. I keep one eye on our surroundings, and when Tim lets out a scream, we all stop. I scan the area, and upon locating a group of swimmers swimming towards us, I whip out my rocket launcher, and shoot a rocket into them.


	8. Chapter 8

'YOU NEED TO GET OUTTA THERE!' Takeda screams as the swimmers back off.

The relief is only short-lived, as they resume swimming towards us. We have to think fast, and when I motion for Tim, Mike, and Naoko, to swim ahead with the children, they protest, but I tell them that it's for the best. They relent, and they swim ahead.

Leaving just Amanda and myself.

'YOU'RE ON A SUICIDE MISSION!' Takeda screams as the swimmers come closer.

I know what I'm doing, and within seconds, I shoot another rocket. Eve lets me know that I am in immediate danger, and I shoot a couple more rockets. Fortunately, the swimmers get a hint.

But it won't be our last time dealing with them.

Nooooo, as we'll be returning later on… and it's going to be A LOT more flooded. Amanda grabs hold of my arm, and we both swim up to the hatch that Tim has opened for us.

But not without other problems.

My flashlight stops working, and I accidentally cause a few loose panels to fall off. The swimmers notice, but before they can do anything, Amanda pulls me through the hatch, and we are finally back on dry ground.

'That was fun.' I pant as I dry myself off.

'You okay?' Tim asks, eager to know the answer.

'As okay as a pregnant hybrid who just fended off swimmers can be.' I pant with a smile.

At that moment, I notice a box of flashlight batteries aswell as a fair few proximity devices, and I split them equally amongst all the adults in the room. My stomach feels like it's doing somersaults, and when Naoko tells me that the shuttle has arrived, I nod, and wave goodbye to her.

'And now to make our way into the staff quarters.' I smile as I shoot a look at Amanda.

Amanda nods, and we make our way there. Upon our arrival, we set out a new plan of action. Tim heads back over to the civilian tower, and Mike decides to make a beeline for the leisure area. Amanda and I, on the other hand, decide to go through to the server farm, as we both know from our Sevastopol experience that we will need to do something there.


	9. Chapter 9

'Have you got any news for us?' I ask Tim as we make our way through the server farm entrance.

'Not at the moment.' Tim sighs as a jumper appears.

Tim flames the fucker, but it is too late, as it grabs hold of him, and punches a hole in his face, killing him instantly. I scream, but only for a short while, as Amanda covers my mouth. I nod, and we run over to a bunch of carefully-placed-but-obviously-destroyed servers that have been converted into a hiding space. We get in as far as possible, and when they come, we hold our flamethrowers in front of us, ready to attack.

'Any news?' Takeda asks us, noticing that we're in a tight spot.

'One of those fuckers just killed Tim.' Amanda sighs as a crawler spots us.

'I saw it on the security feed. You need to find your way over to the lab. I'll meet up with you there.' Takeda mentions as we flame the crawler.

I nod, and Amanda and I make our next move. We know that the new hiding spot isn't gonna keep us safe forever, so we head elsewhere. I cover, and when we come up across a hazmat joe, I sigh, and ambush the fucker.

Little do we know, it's about to get A LOT worse.

The scimed unit becoming flooded will become the least of our problems, as the xenomorphs are adapting to our tactics. I press Takeda for information in regards to why he wants to meets up with us, and he lets us know that he has a shuttle that will transport us to a secret second lab that only the Marshalls and top-tier station-based scientists know about.

And when that happens, you know you're in trouble.

'Once we're there, we can hatch a plan to get rid of the creatures.' Takeda announces as we make our way out of the server farm.

'Are you sure about that?' I ask, surprised.

'It's the only place on the station that those bastards can't access.' Takeda confirms with an audible sigh. 'It's also got its own power supply, and if you're injured, I'll be able to help you out.'

I nod; I am injured, as whilst heading over to the server farm, I snagged my leg on a piece of metal. I've placed some cloth around it, but it hurts like hell, and it is still bleeding (albeit not severely, as nothing major was hit).

The trip to the main lab is dark and full of terrors. We first have to head down some long and narrow corridors using just our flamethrowers to light the way, and we also have to rely on Takeda's guidance.

'Where the fuck are you going?' Mike asks us, having noticed that we are mobile.

'We're meeting up with Takeda.' Amanda replies as we keep walking.

'He says he might be able to get rid of the creatures.' I chip in as I flame a drone. 'Looks like they know we're here.'

'What happened to Tim?' Mike inquired, suspicious.

'He was killed by one of them.' Amanda confirms with a sigh.

'Well I'm not too sad, as the guy had it coming.' Mike admitted, catching us by surprise. 'Oh, and once we're done here, I'm leaving the religious side of things, as I've seen far too much stuff here, and I don't think that a God – living or not – would condone any of it.'

That comes as a surprise, as Mike has never shown any signs of wanting to turn to atheism. Amanda and I both keep walking, and upon reaching the main lab, we lock up behind us, and climb down the ladder.

And into a shithole.

The lab is absolutely trashed, and when Takeda walks over, I sigh, as he looks like he's seen multiple ghosts.

'Thank you for coming over here.' Takeda smiles as he looks at me.

'No worries.' I smile happily. 'How are you holding up?'

'Not good, as I saw a fair few of those things whilst making my way down here, and I completely underestimated just how lethal they were.' Takeda admits as his smile turns into a frown.

I pat Takeda on the back.

'Amanda and I both know the feeling, pal.' I reply sadly.

'You're hurt.' Takeda mentions as he notices my leg.

'Snagged it on the way to the server farm.' I admit as I start to hear footsteps. 'OH COME THE FUCK ON!'

A drone has managed to get through. Eve lets me know that we are all in deep trouble, and Takeda activates the shuttle. It is a closed-circuit shuttle, and it has an automated table onboard that can help fix my leg.


	10. Chapter 10

'How long until we reach the secret lab?' I ask, worried.

'Won't be long.' Takeda replies happily.

We make our way into the shuttle. Takeda straps himself in, and Amanda activates the table. The secret lab is a new thing, and it is in-between the towers, held in place via walkways that are closed-off to those who don't have the right level of authorisation.

'This is going to hurt.' Amanda announces as the table gets to work.

I nod, as even though nothing major is hit, the wound is pretty deep.

'That piece of metal really got me good.' I wince as one of the arms enters said wound.

'It did.' Amanda replies with a sigh. 'What does Eve have to say about this?'

'She thinks I was fucking stupid for not seeing the fucking thing.' I wince as another arm gets to work. 'This feels worse than when you had to reattach my arm.'

I do not scream, and once my leg is patched up, I stand up, and Amanda helps me over to a seat.

'So what is the difference between a closed-circuit shuttle and a standard shuttle?' Amanda asks Takeda out of curiosity as we pull into the dock.

'A closed-circuit shuttle transports crew from one part of the station to another, whereas a standard shuttle is fairly obvious.' Takeda replies with a smile. 'Also, due to how large this place is, taking a transit car isn't always the best option, and some of the units are actually outside.'

'Sevastopol never had shit like this.' I mention as I ease myself back into a standing position.

'Only a few stations have such a thing.' Takeda mentions as he opens the shuttle door.

Unfortunately, the secret lab seems to have gone offline, and courtesy of some dipshit who forgot to close off one of the other entrance points, there is a "security alert".

So much for what I just said a few seconds ago about the lab being secure as fuck.

'We're gonna have to talk quietly.' Takeda sighs as he looks my way.

'Roger that.' I sigh as I look around.

'The control room is the most secure part. I'll get us into there, but whatever you do, be on high alert at all times, as I think I hear footsteps.' Takeda mentions as a drone appears.

I flame the bastard, and we continue on our merry way. The control room is closed off from the rest of the lab, although one can see into the main lab area. It is a xenobiology lab, and from what I can see, there are a few xenomorph and facehugger specimens.

And I am pissed.

'YOU'VE BEEN CAPTURING THESE THINGS?!' I ask Takeda, red with rage.

'We've been trying to study them for over 20 years. I swear I'm innocent!' Takeda replies as he backs up into a corner.

I don't believe him, and upon whipping out my shotgun, I shoot him in the stomach, causing him to fall onto the floor. However, he has one last trick up his sleeve, and with a dying laugh, he presses a red button, and the lab ejects into open space.

And the drone is onboard.

Amanda and I both make a run for it, heading to the emergency airlock. We are followed by the drone, and we barely have enough time to get into the EVA suits before we are also ejected into space.

Fortunately, we know how to make our way back to the station.

It takes a few minutes, but we are able to make it. I pull the lever, and within seconds, we are back in the civilian tower.

And we crash onto the floor.

'Takeda can go to hell!' I moan as I pick myself up.

'He really made us think that he was innocent.' Amanda sighs as she follows suit.

Seconds later…

'Did you formulate a plan?' Mike asks us as he looks at the screen.

'Fuck no we didn't, as it turns out that he was fucking in on it all.' I moan as I stand upright. 'Unfortunately, that leaves us at a bit of a crossroads, as the only method we could've used in order to get rid of all the creatures has been jettisoned into space, and we have no other option.'

'Oh, and Takeda's dead.' Amanda chips in with a smile. 'Also, they've been running secret experiments here, and you don't even want to know what we saw.'

It is at that moment that Mike realises exactly what we're on about.

'They were studying them?!' Mike asks, speechless.

'I'm afraid so.' I reply with a sigh. 'Is Naoko alright?'

'She just got back from sending the children off. As you can imagine, she's a little emotional.' Mike admits as Naoko walks over.

'Saying goodbye to the children was pretty tough.' Naoko admits as she composes herself.

'I can imagine.' I reply with yet another sigh. 'Hey, did you hear about Tim?'

'I did.' Naoko admits, somewhat worried. 'Do you think we will be next?'

I sigh.

'There is a possibility.' Amanda confirms on my behalf. 'Also, Marshall Takeda is no-longer helping us out, so we're completely on our own now.'

'Well I've been able to locate an access point near the server farm that will take you to the private apartments. If you can make your way up and locate the private transit station, you will be able to make your way over to the android processing plant. There seems to be a bit of a party going on there at the moment, as I've just gotten readings, and… well… whatever it is that's going on doesn't look good.'

I nod, and Amanda and I both make our way back to the server farm. It is in worse state, having become home to a fair few joes, and the servers have all been knocked over, so there are few places to hide.


	11. Chapter 11

'Well that's just great.' Amanda sighs as we look around.  
'We'll have to be extra-careful.' I reply back.

Little do we know, Takeda isn't actually dead, as he managed to make it onto another closed-circuit shuttle, and he was able to operate on himself. He is also making his way back to the station, and we will be meeting him again.

And I'll be shooting him in the head.

We make our way through the server farm, and over to the access point that Mike has just opened up. It takes us straight to the private apartments, and we navigate our way through, eventually arriving at the private transit station.

But we're not alone.

A few jumpers are there, and the moment Amanda presses the call button, they jump out. I am able to flame them in time, but they manage to do a fair bit of damage as they are in the process of fucking off. When the transit car finally arrives, we jump in, and Amanda enters the command into the computer.

We are quiet throughout the transit ride, and upon arriving at the android processing plant, we are met (once again) by Dr Frazier.

'Sorry about what happened with Takeda.' Dr Frazier says to us with a frown on her face.  
'Did he really conduct those experiments?' I ask, worried.  
'Yes, as not long after the creature arrived, he sent out a team of scientists to secure more specimens.' Dr Frazier admits as she looks down at the ground. 'I was one of those scientists, although at the time, I didn't know what was about to happen. In fact, only he knew, and some of those specimens will be on their way to Octavius Station right now, thanks to the secret lab's automated ejection pods.'

Seconds later…

'Hello again, assholes!' Takeda says over the intercom, catching us by surprise.  
'I thought we'd killed you.' I moan, surprised.  
'You merely grazed me.' Takeda replies with a laugh. 'The rest was just for show. Oh, and yes, I was in on the experiment, as unlike you and your asshole brother, I was willing to go even further.'  
'By that you mean annihilating every single race in the goddamn universe!' I reply, pissed off. 'You see, I was onto you from the second we got here, and if you think for one moment that you're getting out of this alive, you've got another thing coming, because Amanda and I are heading to the android processing plant. From what my motion tracker can tell, you're not far from there, and when we catch up with you, I'm gonna fire one straight into your head!'

Takeda laughs like a maniac. What he doesn't realise, is that we have all known that he would survive, as thanks to this little thing called LOOKING AT THE STATION MAP PRIOR TO LANDING, I am able to remember exactly where everything is. That includes the room that he calls his safe spot, and I am onto him. So are Mike and Naoko, and it's only then that we realise that Emily and Tim's deaths are no accident.

And I am PISSED!

I reload my shotgun, and Dr Frazier decides to stick with us. She has some beef of her own with Takeda (stuff that I don't know about), and she wants to be there to see the final result.

Little do we know, she's about to walk into her own death.

You see, the android processing plant is overrun with security personnel who are trigger-happy. In order to make it through, we're going to have to not just shoot them but also ambush the joes and flame the xenomorphs.

'Are you able to defend yourself?' I ask Dr Frazier, who is well-equipped.  
'Always am.' Dr Frazier replies with a smile.  
'You got company there?' Mike inquires, curious.  
'Dr Frazier, from when we were in the scimed tower.' I confirm as I load up my gun. 'Unfortunately, we might go dark for a bit, as Takeda's returned, and we're about to unleash hell.'

The news catches Mike by surprise.

'Apparently I only grazed the fucker. Doesn't matter, though, as my next bullet is going straight through his head.' I announce as Amanda opens the door to the plant. 'Heading in now. Wish us all luck.'

Mike nods, and Amanda, Dr Frazier, and myself, head into the plant.

'There's somebody here, guys.' A female security guard announces upon noticing us.  
'How many?' A male security guard asks as he walks out of one of the siderooms.  
'A guy and two girls.' The female security guard replies as she turns to face us again.

I hold my gun out, and motion for Amanda and Dr Frazier to hide behind a nearby crate. This is my area of expertise, and I do not want them to get shot by a million bullets.

'STAND BACK!' The female security guard yells as she starts shooting at me.

I dodge the bullets, and am able to shoot her in the head, killing her. I then turn on her friend, before hiding as more come in. I then jump out, and one-shot kill them all.

'You can come out of hiding now, girls.' I announce once the coast is clear.

The smiles are short-lived, as more security guards appear. Amanda and I both shoot them, which in turn alerts our pals of both the mechanical and penis-headed variety. I keep an eye out for them, and when the others turn up, we have a shitload of fun.

But the fun is short-lived.

Takeda has placed some remote-charges, and he detonates them, forcing us to run out of the plant right as it is blown to kingdom come.

Fortunately, we are still able to access his safe room.

Dr Frazier punches in the code, and we make our way in. It's lit by candles, and when we finally meet Takeda (again), I pull out my shotgun.

'I thought you'd never make it.' Takeda says to us with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
'Well you almost made sure of that.' I reply as I get into position. 'Also, whilst we're here, maybe you can tell us the real reason why you had the xenomorphs brought onboard.'

Takeda starts to reply, but I stop him.

'You are part of Weyland-Yutani, and you ordered that shuttle to turn up with a specimen onboard. You then tricked your top scientists into thinking that they were about to find the cure for cancer, but then the truth was revealed.' I say calmly as I maintain my position. 'You then put on the charm, trying to fool us into believing that you were innocent, when in reality, you are just as guilty as the executives who thought that taking a creature out of its natural fucking habitat was a good idea.'

Before Takeda can protest, Dr Frazier walks forward.

'You also endangered the lives of everybody both on this station and elsewhere in the universe, as those specimens that you forced us to do research on are on their way to Octavius Station.' Dr Frazier says as she rips off Takeda's badge. 'You won't be needing this anymore, as where you're going, only the devil can help you out.'

Takeda looks at me, and without saying another word, I shoot him right in the… foot. There are xenomorphs nearby, and they immediately run to the scene of the crime. By that point, Amanda, Dr Frazier, and myself, are hiding, but Takeda is out in the open. The drone snatches him, and we are able to get out in time.

And then Dr Frazier is shot.

It turns out that there is another security guard, and he has seen everything. It is too late to save Dr Frazier, and within seconds, the security guard follows suit.

And our trouble is only just beginning.

We are not even a quarter of the way through any of this. Amanda leads me out of the safe room, and we make our way down a small corridor.

'Next, you need to go to the orientation area, as there is a door there that you can use to get to a small corridor that leads to the secondary comms array. Once there, you can call in the long-range shuttle, but it won't dock there until the network is back online, so you will need to go down into the reactor and talk directly to Jehovah.' Naoko announces as she looks at the screen.  
'Roger that.' I reply as I look for a nearby elevator.

Unfortunately, the elevators have all gone down, so we'll have to climb. Amanda is okay with that; we did more of that at Sevastopol than I'm letting on, and upon locating the correct elevator shaft, she pries open the doors, and we start our descent, holding onto various pipes as we go along.

'The reactor is live, guys.' Naoko warns us as she gets a reading.  
'Will this take us straight there?' Amanda asks, curious.  
'No, as you will first go through security, and then you will enter what appears to be a maintenance area. There are no server banks as far as we can tell, and… wait… there's one in the shaft with you.' Naoko replies and warns as I look up.

Sure enough, there's a crawler in with us. However, it seems to be older, and when I give it a face full of fire, it does not run off.

'This one's more experienced!' I moan as I continue climbing.  
'Can see that.' Naoko replies with a sigh. 'You're almost at ground level. How are you holding up, Amanda?'  
'I'm holding up just fine.' Amanda confirms as she pulls me onto the ground. 'Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Takeda and Dr Frazier, as… well… you obviously saw it all.'

I then show Naoko Takeda's badge.

'Next time we meet up, I will give this to you.' I announce as Naoko looks at the badge. 'It's got no name on it, and when you return home to Sol, you can let them know that the xenomorphs are not to be fucked around with. Also found Marshall Samson's badge near the server farm, and when you next see Mike, tell him it's his property now.'

Marshall Samson is (well, was) a nice guy. About my age too, and his profile shows that he is identical to me in all ways bar skin colour and heritage. Unfortunately, I located his body prior to entering the server farm for the first time, and all I can say is that he's seen better days. I let out a sigh, and when Amanda and I enter the security zone, we are happy to report that the scanners have been deactivated.

But there is an even bigger problem.

The entrance to the the level above the reactor has been blocked off, so we have to make our way through to the secure comms array. It is an internal comms array that allows for communication near the reactor, and it is secure to the high nines due to being directly connected to Jehovah. Eve lets me know that it is going to be incredibly dangerous, and the moment we come across the corridor leading to the secure comms array, I can see why.

Joes.

Lots of joes.

'Come with me, please!' They all say in unison, catching us by surprise.

Amanda shoots a look at me, and we decide to go for it. There are about twenty of the fuckers, and from what we can see, they've been pretty busy.

That's an understatement, by the way.

There are a fair few dead bodies, and from what I can see, some of them are very undignified ie. looking like they are having some horizontal fun time. However, they are all clothed, save for one guy who is in the control room and was having some actual solo fun when he got internally decapitated.

And as if on cue and at the most inappropriate time, the Foghorn Stringband version of Ain't Got Time To Stop And Tarry enters my head.

I like the song and all, but not during a chase sequence in which I am both pregnant and could run the risk of potentially dying. I shoot a look at Amanda, and when we get the chance, we head into the auxiliary control room, barricading ourselves in as good as possible.

'How do you feel?' Amanda asks me as she takes hold of my hand.  
'Like shit.' I admit as I rub my stomach with my other hand. 'Eve thinks we dodged a bullet just then.'  
'I know, as she was giving both of us directions.' Amanda smiles as she starts to look around. 'Maybe there's another way into the reactor that won't take us past those fuckers.'  
'There isn't.' I sigh as I hear a beep.

I hear the all-too-familiar bangs, and the words "oh shit" come out of my mouth. However, this time, we can't do anything other than run, so the moment they break through the barricade, we make a run for it, jumping over tables and chairs and everything else that one would find in a security zone.

And we enter a fucking showroom.

'You're going the wrong way.' Mike says, visibly confused.  
'I know, but we ran into a bit of trouble.' I reply as I start to lose my breath. 'Any other routes open?'  
'There is one, but you're not gonna like where it goes through.' Naoko admits as she pulls up the schematics.

I take a look, and immediately shake my head. Amanda follows suit, and upon leaving the showroom, we make our way to what appears to be an android morgue.

'Is anybody there?' A male voice suddenly pipes up over the intercom, catching us all by surprise.  
'Who are you?' I inquire, hoping for an answer.  
'I'm Martin, your old pal from Pandora.' The voice replies happily. 'Am one of the workers here on Yokohama now. Mike sent me up here. Upon exiting the android morgue, you need to go to the storage facility. They keep all the reactor joes down there.'

I nod, and Martin guides Amanda and myself to the storage facility. He's not a Marshall, but since all the other Marshalls are dead, he's the next best thing. I've met him before; he was on Pandora for a while, before being ferried to Yokohama. He's a lovely guy, and I do not want any harm to come to him.

'You don't know just how ruthless Takeda was, as he was a bully to us right from the start.' Martin mentions as we continue walking. 'Didn't always use violence or rude words, as his body language was enough, and he also gaslighted a lot of us.'  
'I can tell in your voice.' I admit as I let out a sigh.  
'We were also due to get a visit from the company in about two weeks.' Martin admits as he watches us on the camera. 'He thought that he would be able to exculpate himself, make it look like Dr Frazier had ordered the collection of that specimen. Now there'll be nothing here but dead bodies and the likes.'  
'Well not us, as the moment Amanda and I are done here, we're heading to Octavius, see what shit they've got going on.' I reply as we enter the storage facility.

Martin nods, and guides us through the storage facility.

'Now, when you do get to the reactor, you must head down to the lower level, as you will need to power up both the Alpha and Beta cores.' Martin announces as we see a joe waking up. 'Don't worry about him, as he's still secure in the pod. However, that won't be for long, as I will warn you that there is a sensor just before you enter the reactor, and it will put you down as intruders. Cannot be turned off by any means, so you will have to watch your backs.'  
'And what's the deal with the cores?' Amanda inquires, curious.  
'They're not like the ones that you powered down a few weeks ago, as these ones require DNA fingerprint activation. Now, there will be a few dead bodies down there. What you'll be looking for is the body of a young female who will be wearing a black hijab. Only her fingerprints and her fingerprints alone can activate both cores.' Martin confirms as he looks ahead.  
'What about our friends?' I inquire, hoping for a very good answer.  
'We'll have to deal with them after sorting the reactor out.' Martin replies right as the entrance to the upper level opens up.

And that's when we see how big the reactor is.

It is even bigger than the one at Sevastopol. I look around, and there are about twenty hazmat joes walking around.

'Looks like we've got company down here, pal.' I announce as I locate a ladder.  
'I can see that.' Martin confirms as he gets a close-up. 'Use the ladder to climb down.'

I nod, and Amanda and I both climb down to the main level. The joes notice us, and we make a run for it. The lower level is accessible via yet another ladder, and when one of the joes grabs me, I whack it as hard as I can with my maintenance jack, forcing it to release me from its grip.

Albeit with a few bruises.

'We're almost there!' Amanda loudly announces as we head over to the ladder.  
'Thank FUCK for that!' I moan, holding my neck. 'God, those bastards sure know how to fuck things up!'  
'I can see that, babe.' Amanda sighs whilst grabbing me by the arm.

I nod, and Amanda pulls me over to the ladder. We both make our way down, and that's when we realise that things are even worse here than they are at Sevastopol.

Much worse.

There are bodies EVERYWHERE, and facehuggers are roaming about like they own the place. Technically, they do, as the place is a literal fuckin' nest. I count at least a hundred eggs that are yet to open, and there are some live victims down there who are soon to become pregnant due to being in close proximity to said unopened eggs.

'I see you've made it to the reactor.' Mike smiles as he looks at the screen.  
'Thanks to you, Naoko, and Martin.' I reply happily.  
'Came across Martin whilst on the way to the flooded shaft.' Mike adds as he goes into hiding. 'Gotta keep quiet now, as there's one nearby.'

I pick up tracks near where Mike is hiding.

'You should find a locker, Mike.' Amanda warns upon looking at my motion tracker.  
'Well I can't, as there's no lockers here.' Mike whisper-sighs as he looks around. 'However, there are a few tables that I might be able to use. Gonna head over to them now.'  
'And I'm gonna follow.' Naoko chips in with a smile.  
'It's best that you do, as the tracks are getting closer.' I warn as I switch back to the camera feed. 'They're in the room with you. You need to move quickly.'

Mike nods, and they move over to the tables. Fortunately, they are neither seen nor heard, and they succeed.

'How many are there?' Mike asks me out of curiosity and worry.  
'Six, but you're in a good spot, so you should be safe for now.' I reply with a smile.

Amanda nudges me, and we start looking at the bodies. Upon locating the female with the hijab, I pick her up, sling her over my shoulder, and with Martin's guidance, we make our way to the Alpha core. I press the female's hand against the touchscreen monitor, and within seconds, it gets to work.

Unfortunately, that means that our friends are about to turn up.

I prepare myself for one-handed flamethrower combat, and follow Amanda through to where the Beta core is located. Along the way, we flame some fuckers, flame some small fuckers, and make sure we don't get killed by multi-fucker combo. I then activate the Beta core, and upon unloading the female, Amanda and I run back to the ladder as fast as we can, and climb up it right as we are seen by a drone.

'You got really lucky there, guys.' Martin announces with an excited laugh.  
'Yeah well we've had a lot of practice.' I reply as I roll my eyes. 'Where are we to go once we've finished here in the reactor?'  
'You're to go back to comms, as I was able to rewire the external comms whilst you were busy kicking Takeda's ass, and I think we've just received a message from a nearby ship called the Anemone.'

I nod, and Amanda and I locate the terminals that we'll need to use. They are the Alpha and Beta terminals, and due to previous experience with such things, we know the order in which to do them, and also the fact that one of us will need to cover for the other whilst that is taking place.

Unfortunately, that will mean getting our own asses kicked.

But we manage to escape, and once the terminals are powered up, we make our way to the main terminal, and power it up, activating the reactor.

Little do we know, we've just pissed Jehovah of big-time.

Martin opens up a maintenance vent, and Amanda and I climb in. I go first, and we make our way up to the control room, where there are various consoles.

'Second time's a charm.' I say as I press the large red button.

Amanda pulls me back, and we watch as the reactor purges the nest from existence. Unfortunately, that does mean that the would-be pregnant parents are also killed, but it's for their own good, as it spares them the pain of having their ribcage turn apart.

A few minutes later, we leave the control room, and start making our way back to comms. Unfortunately, whilst we're walking, the camera feed goes down, so we can only hear Mike, Naoko, and Martin, instead of seeing their faces.

'What the hell just happened?' I ask Martin out of worry.  
'The camera feed went down.' Martin replies with an audible sigh. 'Unfortunately, not much can be done about it, so we can only speak to each other. Where are you now?'  
'We're on our way back to comms.' I confirm as I look around. 'Gonna take a while. Are there any shortcuts that we can take?'  
'Sadly, no.' Martin confirms with a sigh.

Fortunately, we don't need any shortcuts, as we are able to find our way using our motion trackers. However, they are starting to fritz out, so they are gradually becoming less useful as the minutes roll by.

And then they give out.

Fortunately, our microphones still work, so we can keep contact with them. We are also good in the hearing department, and Eve lets me know that the coast is clear.

We reach comms an hour later, and Martin guides us over to the console. They are all still working (they run on their own power sources), and I punch in the required code.

And I listen in…

The moment the broadcast ends, I open up the two-way radio transmitter. Captain James Decker picks up on the other end, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

'We just received word that Yokohama Station is in trouble.' Captain Decker announces via comms. 'Can you please confirm that?'  
'We can, captain, as there are multiple alien organisms here. Can you send out a broadcast? We'll need military backup asap.' I suggest as I look at the screen.

As luck would have it, Captain Decker is a former marine. He nods, and upon punching in the co-ordinates, he sends out an emergency distress call on our behalf.

'We need to maintain contact at all times.' I then say as I back away from the console.  
'Roger that.' Captain Decker replies happily.

I nod, and Amanda and I leave comms.

'I will keep my ship in transit at all times.' Captain Decker announces as Amanda and I make our way back to scimed. 'When you're ready for extraction and transportation to Octavius, let me know.'

I confirm, and the moment Amanda and I arrive back in scimed, we see just how bad the flooding is.

'You can't go down there just yet.' Martin says with a worried tone in his voice.  
'That's not part of the plan as of yet, although we will need to later on.' Amanda replies as we hear a drone walking nearby.

I pull Amanda behind a crate, and we wait as the drone walks off. We then make our escape, and we head through to an unused part of scimed which has thankfully been left untouched. It is the second operating theatre, which would've opened on time had shit not hit the fan, and we gather extra supplies due to the fact that what's coming up (which is before our swimming session) will have me lose another limb.

This time, it'll be my leg.

But we don't know about that as of yet, and I am also more worried about Eve than I am about myself, as Eve's life is far more important than mine. Same goes for Amanda, and when we enter a very-obviously-destroyed medical laboratory, we both let out a sigh.

And by destroyed, I mean blown to kingdom come. We wave our flamethrowers around, trying not to cause any more issues.

Unfortunately, that's not going to be the case.

Right as we are about to walk past a terminal, it explodes, causing me to fall backwards. I let out a yelp, and right as I am about to ease myself into a standing position, Amanda stops me. I then look down, and sure enough, my right leg is in her other hand.

'OH FOR FUCK SAKE!' I moan out loud.  
'I'm gonna reattach it.' Amanda replies as she gets to work. 'Will hurt a little, but I think we're used to this now.'

I nod, and Amanda reattaches my leg. It is indeed painful, but it is over before I know it, and I am able to walk again.

'At least I didn't bleed out!' I moan as I resume walking.  
'How does it feel?' Amanda asks me out of curiosity.  
'Like it's just been reattached.' I reply as I wince.

Amanda nods, and we make our way out of the laboratory.

'You can blame Paul for that.' Martin smiles as our motion trackers suddenly come back to life.  
'Can blame him for what?' Amanda inquires, confused.  
'What just happened, as this whole field surgery thing was his idea.' Martin replies happily. 'Also managed to remote-repair all your motion trackers, so now we should be able to see AND hear each other again.'

I give a thumbs up.

'That means that we're all good.' Martin smiles as he checks everything on his end. 'Unfortunately, the station is still dark, and you now need to go to the pharmacy, as there is a keycard there that you need in order to get to the isolation ward.'

The isolation ward is the only ward to have not been flooded, as it is in a separate area. There is a hack tool upgrade there, and we need it in order to access the elevator shaft that will lead us to the flooded part of scimed.

But getting there isn't going to be easy.


	12. Chapter 12

You see, the entrance to the civilian tower that we swam into has been blocked off, and there are more swimmers down there, which means that we will be in even more danger if the rocket launchers decide to fail us right then and there. We will also have absolutely NOWHERE to hide, and we will have NOBODY to guide us because (long story short) Martin, Naoko, and Mike, are all about to die.

And in crazy ways.

Amanda and I arrive at the pharmacy, and start looking around for the keycard. However, we are brought to a halt, when Naoko is heard shouting.

'What's going on?' I ask Mike, who is visibly worried.

Before Mike can reply, he is attacked by a joe.

'They're both dead, guys.' Martin announces with a sad tone in his voice.

I let out a high-pitched shriek.

'Just keep moving, guys.' Martin then says as we resume walking. 'Any luck with the keycard?'

As if on cue, Amanda locates the keycard.

'Now head to the isolation ward and look for the hack tool upgrade.' Martin orders as he starts to hear banging.

Amanda nods, and we make our way to the isolation ward. Upon opening the door, we make our way in, and start looking around for the upgrade. The ward itself is pretty large, and the moment we find said upgrade, a few friends join us.

'We've got company, Martin.' I announce as a creeper goes by.

Martin doesn't reply.

'Martin, do you copy?' I ask, becoming worried.

Martin still doesn't reply.

'It looks like Martin has gone down.' Captain Decker announces after sending the emergency broadcast. 'Also sent an emergency broadcast out. Hopefully, somebody will pick it up.'

Little do we know, even Captain Decker is about to go down. We listen in, as his ship is hit by space debris, causing the entire thing to break apart. I shoot a worried look at Amanda, and once the creeper has fucked off, we make a run for it, flaming it and the others in the process as we run to the elevator shaft.

'It's just us and Eve now.' I sigh as Amanda pries open the doors.

'I hope somebody heard the message.' Amanda replies as she starts losing hope.  
'They will have.' I sigh as the doors break off.

Amanda and I both climb down the shaft right as it starts filling with water. Fortunately, there is a junction that can take us through to scimed, and before we are fully submerged, we are able to open it.

And then it happens.

'Here we go!' I announce as I fully submerge myself.

Amanda follows suit, and we swim into said junction, making our way back into scimed. We look around, hoping to find something that we can use to break windows, but we have no look.

'You need to go, daddy.' Eve says to me via telepathy.

I look at my motion tracker, and see that swimmers are nearby. I can count about sixteen of them, and I motion for Amanda to follow me as I swim close to the sides, hoping that the swimmers wouldn't see us.

Using that technique, we are able to safely make our way through most of the general floor. Our goal is to return (again) to the comms array, and…

'This could require my attention!' I hear a joe say out of the blue.

Apparently, the joes can FUCKING SWIM! That's a new one for us, and we swim away as fast as we can. Unfortunately, that means that the swimmers notice us, which means that we have to use the rocket launchers, which also means that we have to rely on our survival instincts a little bit more because the rocket launchers are almost empty, which also means that we'll be fucked if they try to attack us.

And they almost succeed.

However, they fall short, as Amanda and I are able to dodge their attacks. We then see the entrance up ahead, and the moment it opens, we swim out, and make our way to the transit station. Unfortunately, even that is now flooded, but we have a little more cover there, so we are able to swim the length of the overhead tracks, and we make our way to comms.

But there is another problem.

Comms is now flooded, which means more underwater joes. Now, for those who are wondering what "talking to Jehovah" meant, it actually meant the purge, as Jehovah doesn't have the same setup as Apollo had, and there was no way we were going to play nice with the fucker. Anyhow, back to the main event, as like I just said, we have more underwater joes to deal with, and they are ready to attack us. We are able to dodge their attacks, and upon locating a ceiling junction, we are able to climb in, shake ourselves down, and jump into the airlock.

'Won't miss this place.' I sigh as I get out an EVA suit.

'Do you think it's a good idea for us to go outside right now?' Amanda inquires, worried.  
'As you could see, comms was flooded, and all we can do now is go outside, initiate the station destruct sequence, and hope that some fucker comes along and saves us.' I sigh as I start putting on my EVA suit.

Amanda nods, and follows suit. Seconds later, we are both outfitted, and we make our way into the actual airlock part. I close the door, and within seconds, the outside door opens, and we make our way out.

'Is anybody there?' I ask via comms, hoping for a signal.  
'This is Captain Tim Sasabe, reporting for duty.' Captain Sasabe replies, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Captain Sasabe is an old friend of mine, by the way.

'We've received reports of suspicious activity on Yokohama Station, and are preparing to blow the station up. Now, there will be a black box near there. Can you do the honours?' Captain Sasabe replies and asks from the safety and comfort of his own ship.

I confirm, and Amanda and I make our way up the stairwell. The same protocol is required for this one as it was for the Sevastopol black box, and I do the honours right as Amanda tethers us both to the rails.

And company turns up.

I press the required buttons, and within seconds, the destruct sequence is activated. Amanda and I both fly off, to be caught by Captain Sasabe's crew, and we are dragged to safety as Yokohama explodes.

'Good to see that you made it out in one piece.' Captain Sasabe smiles as he walks over to us.  
'Technically, we didn't, as Amanda had to surgically reattach my leg.' I reply with a sigh. 'Unfortunately, our trouble is only just beginning. How long until we reach Octavius?'  
'A few weeks at best.' Captain Sasabe admits as he becomes suspicious. 'Why?'  
'Takeda was working on a not-so-secret project, and the results are heading straight to that station as we speak.' Amanda announces as she rubs my stomach.

Captain Sasabe notices what's going on.

'Two weeks.' I reply happily.

Captain Sasabe lets out a smile, and we plot the course for Octavius. Yokohama is now nothing but ruins, and we are allowed to watch on monitors as we leave orbit.

We won again.

We are Paul Carter and Amanda Ripley.

Signing off!


End file.
